Annecy Festival Awards "Boy and the World", "Giovanni's Island" and More

The Annecy International Animation Festival in France is something like the Cannes of animation. Attended by figures from the industry from around the world, it's a place to catch many upcoming animations before the general public. The 38th annual event ran from June 9th to 14th, and the whole shebang always closes with the handing out of the awards.

Brazil's Boy and The World (pictured above) was the big winner, taking home the awards for best feature and audience choice. The sophomore film from director Ale Abreu is a traditionally animated feature without dialogue, and has already been picked up for US distribution by GKids. US animation legend Bill Plympton (Idiots and Angels) took home the Jury Award for his latest work Cheatin'. There was also success for Japanese animators too- Giovanni's Island, the latest work from Production IG- the makers of Ghost In the Shell - was awarded the Jury distinction.

The festival also paid tribute to Studio Ghibli legend Isao Takahata, who's latest movieThe Tale of Princess Kaguya opened the festival. Takahata was given a special Honorary Award for his contributions to the artform. The festival's Artistic Director Marcel Jean paid tribute to the great man:

"[A] Filmmaker of an exceptional scale, Mr Takahata is also a great
humanist whose work has become a reference for those who believe in the
greatness of animation as a cinematic art form."

AFA is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.